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Not proofread, ignore errors.

"Haseena, I can understand your feelings but I don't think I am the right person. Moreover I cannot take the risk with your health." Lines of worries were visible on Pushpa ji's face and her voice was anxious.

"I need to know her traumas, her phobias, and the reason behind them. If you won't tell me then I will search for it myself." She gritted her teeth; her eyes were wide open and face was flushed in anger.

"There is no need for that." Shorya stepped into the room; the top two buttons of his shirt were open, tie was missing, hairs were messed up, eyes were red and moist, and a laptop bag was held in his right hand.

"Bhai..." Haseena looked at Shorya who was gazing at the sleeping figure of Karishma. She evacuated the place beside Karishma for him, and moved out of the room taking Pushpa ji and Dr. Simran with herself.

He reached near Karishma's bed; her face was pale and drip was attached to her. Karishma's smiling face hit his memories, "Come on Shorya! I am absolutely fine now... Look!!" She gestured herself , opened her arms and flashed a genuine smile to him. "Are you sure? I mean i can send Dr. Simran too. What if you need me?" She rolled her eyes, moved closer to him, straightened his collar and added, "My dear husband, your wife wants you to excel in your career and for that this trip is important. I will be alright, I haven't got any kind of anxiety attacks for a long time now."

Tears flowed out of his eyes and he fell down on his knees beside the bed, "You said you will be alright..." his voice was a mere whisper. "I shouldn't have listened to you... Look at what you did to yourself. Thank God, Haseena has managed to provide you medical aid on time otherwise..." He held Karishma's hand in his both. "Our relationship is not just based on care and respect... I Love you a lot... I can't lose you... I want to confess it to you but never got the right time... and... and you were going to leave me without knowing about my feelings..." His voice choked and he started crying hysterically with his head on her hand.

It has been an hour since he was sitting holding Karishma's hand; tears dried on his deadpan face and her eyes were reflecting an unbearable pain.

Pushpa ji entered the room. "Shorya, please hold yourself. If you will lose your strength then who will handle Karishma." She patted his shoulder.

"No Amma... I cannot handle her... If I could she would have been cured... It's been ten years damn it!! Ten long years... And I failed to cure her... " His eyes once again flooded with tears.

"Shorya!!" Pushpa ji's voice choked too seeing his strong son breaking apart.

"There is only one person who can cure her... the one who had started it all." Suddenly, his voice was sharp.

"What do you mean?" Pushpa ji's eyes were wide open as she was dreading that her fear might turn true.

"Haseena."

"Shorya, you know too well. Haseena is not responsible for Karishma's condition; She is a victim herself." Pushpa ji tried to reason.

"I will tell her the truth without taking her name. She will hear the story with a third person view... completely neutral... Let her decide who is responsible... Moreover it's not just about the culprit, it's about healing Karishma and we both know, only Haseena can help her in that."

"And what about her mental condition... what if she regains her memory during the revelations... she will start hating herself."

"I will take that risk. I can not see my wife suffering from this pain... not anymore. I don't care if i am being selfish, i don't care if Karishma will be angry with me... but Haseena has to heal my Karishma at any cost." His voice was harsh and his face was flushed with anger as he left the room.

...

"Haseena, you want to know about Karishma's past, right?" Haseena nodded as they were sitting on the terrace with a cup of coffee in their hands. A silence lingered longer than expected. Both knew that this conversation would be painful and exhausting for they sipped from their mugs to give themselves strength.

"You might remember I have told you once about Karishma's friend whom she lost. It's related to her only. She was her best friend... no, not just best friend, soul sister... She was her guide, her protector, her sister, her brother and sometimes her parents too. Karishma was the sole child of a middle class couple who was too ambitious in improving their lives and social status. Consequently, Karishma was a lonely child until she met her lifeline. Her childhood, teen years, and adulthood till 20 years of age had been spent with her only. She had taken care of Karishma like a princess; she had protected her as her most prized possession and never let her face the real world alone. Karishma had found all her relations in one person only and that person became her addiction... no, not addiction... it is possible to leave that and still live... over the years she became her oxygen... yes oxygen... It is not possible to live without oxygen.

FLASHBACK STARTS

Lights were switched off, curtains were drawn, and there was complete darkness in the room; only the sound of sobbings could be heard all over. Haseena entered the room and switched on the lights. Her eyes went on Karishma; cuddled to a corner of the room holding a photo frame in her hand and continuously crying, her eyes and nose was red, face was completely drenched with tears and she was struggling to breathe.

Fresh set of tears started streaming down from Haseena's already puffy eyes, "Karishma!!!" She ran towards her, rubbed her back and made her drink a glass of water, "Please, get a hold of yourself Karishma....please..." her own voice choked in her throat at her dear friend's condition.

"How? How can I Haseena? Why always me? In the name of relations all I had was mama, papa and you. Why is God so cruel to me? What had I done? Why did he snatch my parents from me? I....I agree.... I always had complaints of them that they don't give me time but....but at least I had them by my side, I loved them a lot haseena, I....i wanted them to understand me, to pamper me, to express their love to me, to be kind and caring towards me, all my life I missed them being my parents just like anyone else's but I had hope, I had hope that one day I will win their hearts, that one day I will get them but....but He had snatched that hope from me too....Why?? What enmity do You have with me?????" she roared loudly looking up and burst into loud cries once again.

Haseena, herself, had started sobbing. She took her in her arms, placed her head on her shoulders and started patting her softly. She was mumbling softly and lovingly in her ears consoling words. "You are not alone Karishma, I am there with you by your side, always. You are not alone.... You will always find me near you....Hold yourself....calm down....I am here....."

She was consoling her with all the love, warmth and care by letting her cry on her shoulder. They stayed in that position, there on the floor of Karishma's room, with their backs supporting on the wall and Karishma's head on Haseena's chest.

After a good two hours, Karishma was a bit stable. So, Haseena had made her sit straight and tried taking that photo frame from her but Karishma refused to give it away, "Karishma, It has been a month, uncle Auntie had passed away. I understand that their sudden death in a road accident is very unfortunate and painful for you. No one can ever take the place of your parents and that gap will always remain like this....i....i know that because....i have been through this.... When Abu died....i...was devastated....you know it...every night I used to cry to sleep....Abu was my world....he....he was my role model....he could understand me so easily and always guides me......after his demise....i....i used to feel unsheltered, unprotected, insecure. I know how you must be feeling at this point but Karishma....life doesn't stop....We have to move forward with that gap, we must learn to live without them."

"I am trying Haseena but I can't....." she whispered painfully.

"You can and you will. You know how I overcame my father's loss?" she paused while Karishma was looking at her intently. "You made me do that." "Me?" Karishma asked, confused.

Haseena held Karishma's one free hand in her both hands and added looking directly in her eyes, "Yes, you....you made me realize that by living in that pain I am giving you the pain. You also started to be gloomy, you also lost your sleep and appetite. At that time I realized what I was doing was absolutely wrong, Abbu was, is and will always be in my heart, in my memories. I realized that he has left the world physically but his essence, his soul is with me always. Earlier Abu's words and his comforting hands on my head, used to be my strength but then I made his memories my strength. I promised myself that I would keep myself happy and healthy because that's how he wanted to see me."

She wiped Karishma's tears with her thumb and added, "I am always there for you to wipe your tears." She kissed her forehead and added, "I am there to comfort you in pain." She placed her hand on her shoulders and added, "I am there to pat your back on your achievements." She held her hand and added, "I am there with you in all your hardships."

Karishma looked in her eyes and found love, affection and determination to fulfill her words. She forwarded her hand towards her and added, "Promise me Haseena that you will never go, leaving me alone." Haseena gave her hand in hers and responded, "I promise Karishma. I promise that I will never leave you."

She took that photo frame from her hand and this time Karishma did not resist, she placed it by her bedside and added, "Let's go, today we will have dinner outside in your favorite restaurant." "Haseena...." Karishma tried refusing her. "No Karishma, no excuses....You need to move out of these four walls....you will feel good." Haseena cut her words, and pushed her into the washroom, "go and change." "You are too stubborn...." Karishma responded while closing the changing room's door.

...

"Why is there so much commotion?" Haseena thought loudly. They were returning from the restaurant after having dinner, when they saw some lawyers and other officers around the house.

"Haseena... Haseena, my house... what are they doing here?" Karishma's face was getting paler and paler, her voice was panicking, and she held Haseena's hand tightly.

"Karishma!! Karishma!! relax... relax... Come, let's see." Haseena parked her car, held Karishma's hand protectively, and went inside.

"Hi, I am Haseena Malik. Can I know what is going on here? Who are you and what are you doing in my friend's house?" Her voice was not loud but intense and controlled. She stared directly in the eyes of the officer incharge and there was not a single crease on her forehead. Contrastingly, Karishma had hidden half of her body behind Haseena, her eyebrows were scrunched together, and she had been holding Haseena's hand tightly.

"Owner of this house had taken a loan from the bank. He had not returned it, so we are preparing for its auction."

"Nooo!!! This is all I had in the name of my mom and dad's memories." Karishma shouted and started crying hysterically.

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